Apparatus for the generation of gas.



No. 795,208. PATENTED JULY 18, 1905.

B.B.ELDRBD. APPARATUS FOR THB GENERATION 0F GAS.

APPLIUATION FILED HAB. 15, 1905.

Mmm n Mum m, rmmunux un Nirnn STATES Patented July 18, 1905.

ATBNT OFFICE.

BYRON E. ELDRED, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ELDRED PROCESS COMPANY,OF NEV YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR THE GENERATION OF GAS.

SPECIFICATION 'Omng Part 0f Letters Patent NO 795,208, dated. July 18,1905.

Application tiled March 15,1905. Serial No. 250,183.

To (LZ/Z whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that I, BYRON E. ELDRED, a citi- Zen of the United States,and a resident of New York city, in the county of New York and State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatusfor Generating Combustible Gas from Carbon DioXid, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This apparatus is intended for the manu facture of gas in a mannersimilar to that by which water-gas is made, but by the use of reactingfluids which form a gas of a totally different constitution from that ofwater-gas, and on that account is especially useful for bothilluminating and power purposes, as the combustible gas obtained in themanner hereinafter described is nearly free from that most objectionableelement hydrogen and contains a large amount of carbon monoXid. It is,therefore, particularly adapted for operating internal-explosionengines.

In the manufacture of water-gas, as is Well known, a deep mass of fuelis brought to 'a state of vivid incandescence by a blast of air. l/Vhenthe temperature is suiiiciently high, the air-blast is terminated andsteam introduced in its place. The steam passes up through the hot fueland by its reaction with the glowing carbon is decomposed into hydrogenand carbon monoXid, which mixture constitutes the so-called water-gas.This steam reaction takes place efficiently only above a temperature of1,900O or 2,000o Fahrenheit, and as the reaction is an endothermic onethe temperature of the generator' rapidly falls and the steam-blast mustbe quickly discontinued and the air-blast resumed in order to bring thetemperature of the fuel back again to the point at which it is capableof properly decomposing steam. The process therefore consists in analternation of air and steam b1ows, the air-blow producing a sort ofproducer-gas and the steam-blow the water-gas.

In the passage of an air-current without the use of steam through a deepbed of fuel to form what is commonly known as producer-gas it is foundthat if the oxygen be split up entirely into carbon monoxid a gas isproduced containing one part of carbon monoXid to two parts of nitrogen.It is not, of course, possible to effect in this way complete reductionto carbon monoxid. Carbon dioXid is invariably produced in a greater orless degree, depending upon the character of the fuel and constructionof the gas-producing appliance. Consequently by an air-draft alone it ispossible to get a gas containing only from twenty to twenty-eight percent. of carbon monoXid, and if no steam be used this gas is too poor incombustible matter for many purposes. Especially is it true that such agas is not suited for use in internal-explosion engines, owing to thegreat volume of inert f nitrogen which it carries. Hydrogen, whichcauses so much trouble in the operation of gas-engines, because of thedanger of premature ignition and consequent inability to secureefficient compression, is in a producer operated by an air-draftpractically absent. Such a gas is, however, so poor in combustible thatgas-engines of Very large dimensionsare required. It is not,consequently, considered practicable to use it for this purpose.

My invention has for its object the production of a gas containinglittle or no hydrogen and containing a very large amount of carbonmonoXid, which is a most desirable constituent of gas intended forinternal-explosionengines. For this purpose I employ instead of air thegases coming from a limekiln. These are blown into a deep bed of fueland decomposed by endothermic reaction, producing a gas very rich incombustible matter. The gases from alimekiln contain large quantities ofcarbon dioXid-often from thirty-five to forty per cent. This, togetherwith the oxygen present, constitutes a gas capable of reacting withcarbon to form a combustible gas carrying' sixty to sixty-five per cent.carbon monoxid or combustible matter.. As is the case with steam, theintroduction of such a gas into the generator is accompanied by a markeddecrease in the temperature, and the process cannot, therefore, be madea continuous one and at the same time produce a gas of the richnesswhich I secure with the present apparatus.

My method consists, therefore, in the application alternately to thegas-generator of a blast of air and then a blastof limekiln-gases. Thegases from the air-blast are allowed to pass into the limeliln to effectthe calcination of the lime. They may of course, if desired, bedischarged into the air or conducted to any other convenient place forutilization. They are, however, particularly adapted for the burning orassisting in the burning of lime, and l prefer to use them for thispurpose. The products of the carbon-dioxid blast-that is to say, of thegas-blast through the producer of the products of combustion anddecomposition or calcination from the limeliln or other source of carbondioXid--are collected and used for the purpose desired. The expressioncarbon-dioxid blast is here used to indicate that portion of theoperation in which the gas generation proper is under way and in whichstage the gas-generator is subjected to a rapid fall in temperature, dueto the dissociation of the carbon dioxid in aforesaid blast. Tf intendedfor use in internaleXplosion engines, they ordinarily should be purifiedby passage through asuitable scrubbing or washing device. Forilluminatinggas it is necessary to carburet the gas on its departurefrom the gas-chamber by passage through a suitable carbureter, and it isgenerally also necessary to fix the gases sul sequent to their passagethrough the carbureter by introducing them into a superheater, wherethey may be subjected to a high temperature, and the oils used incarbureting are thus cracked and converted into fixed gases. The gas maybc carbureted in other ways-as, for instance, by the addition ofvolatile hydrocarbons, such as petroleum, naphtha, and the like.

The accompanying drawing discloses diagrammatieally an embodiment ofthis invention which l now regard as the best of the Various forms inwhich this invention may be applied.

In the drawing, 1 is a limeliln having the furnace or fire-box 2, thelime-discharge hopper or cooler 3, an inlet or opening' for theintroduction of limestone 4, and a removable bottom 5 for the dischargeof the calcined and cooled lime from the cooler 3.

6 is a chamber for the generationof gas, adapted to receive a deep bedof fuel.

7 is a carburcter, and 8 asuperheater. These may be of the typeordinarily used in the manufacture of carbureted water-gas. Thegenerator 6 is provided with feed-hopper 9 for the introduction of thefuel, with grate 10 and ash-pit 11. A deep bed of fuel is shown restingon the gratos at 12. A pipe or passage 13, preferably of or coated withnon-conducting material, leads from the upper part of the limekiln tothe lower part of the generator 6 and enters in its lower part. It isshown in the accompanying drawing entering at the ash-pit 11; but it mayalso be entered at any suitable distance above the grates. Interposed inthis passage is a fan-blower 15. On the inlet side of the fan issituated an airinlet 16. The gates or valves 17, 18, and 19 are used toregulate the relative amounts of stack gas and air and also to regulatethe total amount admitted to the producer. A steamjet 2O is also shown,and it may be used in conjunction with or separately from the fanblower.The generator 6 is connected with superheater 7 by passage 21.

2Q is a pipe or jet for the introduction of oil such as used in theoperation of carbureting.

23 is an air-inlet for the addition of secondary air entering thegenerating air-blow.

The carbureter is connected with the superheater 8 by means of thepassage 25. 26 is an air-inlet for the addition of air if same berequired at this point. The carbureter and superheater contain achecker-work of refractory material, (shown at 2a and 27, respectively.)The superheater is provided in its upper part with an aperture 28,through which combustible gas is allowed to pass into the pipe 32. Agate or valve 29 controls the liow of gases therethrough. A passage fromthe superheater to the limekiln is shown at 30, and a gate closing thispassage is shown at 31. Symmetrically with the gas-generating sethereinbefore described and preferably on the opposite side of thelimekiln is placed a similar or twin apparatus, the parts of which arenumerically designated in a similar manner to the first set, except thatprime numbers are used. The combustible gas from generator 6 dischargesby passage 33 into outlet-pipe 32. My method of operation is as follows:The limeliln 1 is put in operation, lime being fed in the top f1 and afire started in the furnace 2. Vhen the kiln is filled with stone, thewell-ealcined material may be drawn from the cooler 3 and thegas-generator put in operation. This may be done by starting wood orcoke fires in the generators 6 and 6, using airblast or natural draftfor bringing the lire into a state of suitable incandescence. Coal isadded through the hopper 9 until a deep bed of fire is secured. Theair-blast in, for instance, generator 6 may be brought about by closinggate 1T and opening gates 18 and 19. The gate 29 should be closed andgate 31 opened. The generator 6/ is started similarly. fhcn the productsof combustion from the top of the limekiln are sufficiently rich incarbon dioxid, the left-hand generator 6 may be put in operation byopening gates 17 and 29 and closing gates 18 and 31. The gases of thelimekiln then pass through generator 6, carburetor 7,

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and super-heater 8 to the passage 32. vWhile this operation is inprogress the right-hand generator 6 may be used for calcining lime byopening the gate 81 and permitting' the products from the generator topass into the kiln. lV hen the temperature of the generator 6 has fallenbelow the point at which carbon dioxid is properly reduced, the gates 17and i9 are closed and the gates 18 and 3l opened. In the right-hand setof apparatus the gates 1T and 29 may now be opened and the gates 1S and3l closed, thus causing the products of combustion from the generator 6to enter the limekiln and decompose limestone. Reversals are made in theusual way, two sets of generators being worked alternately as regardsthe production of combustible gas, so that a practically continuousdischarge of gas into the passage 32 is secured. It is not necessary, ofcourse, to operate simply \vith twin generators of the character abovedescribed. A number of sets of gasgenerators may be grouped around alimekiln. I do not limit myself as to the number that may -be used. Onegenerator to a kiln is hardly suliicient, owing to the fact that thegases from the kiln uctuate in composition. The use of two or more setsof gas-generators overcomes this diiculty, because under such conditionsproducts of combustion from the generators are always entering thelimekiln, and the stack-gas is fairly uniform in composition. Thelimekiln should be so operated as to secure a gas as rich as possible incarbon dioxid, and for that purpose great care should be taken that thewalls of the kiln are made impervious to the passage of gases or air,that there is no marked infiltration of air about the base of thecooler, and that the furnace 2 if and when operated should be suppliedonly with a sufiicient amount of air to complete combustion. Thesteam-jets, which are shown under the generators, may be used when it isnecessary to increase the combustible matter of the gas for certainapplications. The steam may be introduced in the bed of fuel at anysuitable point. Air may be admitted through a separate pipe, if desired.The fan-blower shown is not adapted to create very high pressures. Forsuch purposes fans of other sorts may be employ ed*as, for instance, thepositive blower or the high-pressure turbineblower. Air-compressors alsomay be employed, although they are more dificult to operate, owing tothe fact that the products of combustion may contain soot or particleswhich tend to clog the compressor and its valves. I do not limit myselfto the particular type of gas-generator herein shown. Any form adaptedto the introduction and reduction of limekiln gases may be used. rI`hecarbureter or superhcater may be dispensed with when the gas is used forinternal-explosion engines. Under such circumstances the gasgeneratormay have a direct discharge-passage into a limekiln for introduction ofthe products of the air-blow.

Then the products of the air-blow contain combustible matter Kit is wellto admit sufficient air into the kiln at the lire-box or elsewhere tobring about complete combustion.

By a limekiln I mean any form of kiln adapted toi receive and calcinecalcarous material, such as carbonate of lime, dolomite, magnesia, andthe like.

There are many advantages accruing from the generation of gas by meansof the apparatus hereinbefore set forth. Carbon dioxid decomposes at amuch low er temperature than does steam. Hence a longer gas-making blowis possible than with steam, as in the manufacture of water-gas. Thestack-gases if introduced hot into the gas-generator bring` about anincrease in eliiciency, as their sensible heat is thereby converted intothe potential energy of combustible gas. They can of course be used evenif cooled before introduction into the generator. In any case theapparatus herein described permits of the production of from two to twoand one-half times as much gas from a ton of coal as would be producedby the water-gas system.

That I claim as my invention is` l. Apparatus for the manufacture ofcombustible gas which comprises a limekiln, a gasgenerator, means forintroducing the stackgases from the limekiln into said generator, meansfor the admission of air in alternation with stack-gases into saidgenerator, means for discharging the products of combustion of theair-blow into the limekiln and means for collecting' the combustible gasduring the admission to said generator of the limekiln stack-gases.

2. Apparatus for producing' combustible gas comprising a limekiln, apassage connecting the limekiln with a gas-generator, a mechanicaldraft-producing means in said passage, means for the alternate admissionof air and kiln-gases to aforesaid generator. means for carbnreting andsuperheating the combustible gas, means for the discharge into thelimekiln of the products of combustion produced during the admission ofair into the generator and means for collecting the combustible gasproduced during the admission of stack-gases to said generator.

3. Apparatus for the manufacture of combustible gas which comprises alimekiln, a gasgenerator, means for introducing the stackgases from thelimekiln into said generator, means for the admission of air inalternation with stack -gases into said generator, and means forcollecting the combustible gas during the admission to said generator ofthe limekiln stack-gases.

4. Apparatus for the manufacture of combustible gas which comprises akiln used for IOO IIO

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the ealcination oli' calcareous materials, agasgenerator7 means 'forintroducing stack-gases Vfrom the kiln into said generator, means forthe ad mission oli air in alternation with stackgas into said generator,meansjfor discharging the products ot' combustion ol:I the airhlou' intothe kiln, and means 'for collecting the combustible gas during theadmission to said generator of the stack-gases.

Apparatus for producing combustible gas comprising a kiln adapted tocalcine materials evolving carbon dioxid, a passage connecting the saidkiln with a gas-generator a mechanical draft-producing means in saidpassage, means Afor the alternate admission ot air and kiln-gases toaloresaid generator, means 'lor carbureting and superheating thecombustible gas, means Vfor the discharge into the said kiln of theproducts ot combustion produced during the admission of air into thegenerator and means :for collecting the combustible gas produced duringthe admission of stack-gas to said generator.

G. Apparatus for the manutactu re of combustihle gas which comprises akiln containing material evolving carbon dioxid on the application ofheat, a gasgenerator, means for introducing the stack-gases from saidkiln into said generator, means for the admission ol'I air inalternation With stack-gas into said generator and means for collectingthe combustible gas during the admission to said generator oitl the kilnstack-gases.

Signed at New York city, in the county ot' New York and State of NewYork, this 11th day of March, A. D. 1905.

BYRON E. ELDRED.

lWitnesses:

Jas. K. CLARK, WARREN E. DIXON.

